Thursday, September 17, 2009

It's not exactly leaping tall buildings in a single bound or spinning straw into gold, but my superpower, such as it is, is to see the world through the prism of metaphor. Everything reminds me of something else, everything means something else. Steve always used to say it is what it is. And I hated him for saying that because, for me, nothing ever is what it is.

Yesterday, even before I stepped through the glass doors and out onto the sidewalk, I saw the dark circle of suits blocking the way. I knew, and it felt like the twist of a garotte, that one of them was Steve. I knew that he wouldn't look at me, but he did anyway and I closed my eyes for a second and walked towards the parking lot and wished that I were prettier or nicer or smarter or braver.

And then my car failed inspection because of a problem with, yes, the rear view mirror.

So what's you special knack, gift, talent? Does the perfect parking space always open up for you or can you effortlessly memorize the lyrics of any song you hear?

I think I like yours, niobe. And Mercury is in retrograde, so we are all supposed to be looking backwards right now.I do have a special gift of missing cross town connections. I have never once made the connection that I should. That was is more negative, like my parents ability to walk into the only inappropriate scene of a movie my sisters and I were watching as teenagers.On the more positive side, I like Patti, empathy & the third eye, but it has taken me a long time to enjoy these gifts - or rather to take care how I use them & when to stick them in a cupboard with the doors locked (like when taking a bus downtown).The other day Henry busted out with "Isaac has a third eye," pointing to that spot. My in-laws looked aghast at their grandson & Matt said calmly to me, "he gets it from your side." Too true, too true.

Trish: Well, technically, Steve (not his actual name) is real. He's an ex-boyfriend from many years ago who ditched me for my best friend. They're married and have two little girls and are really perfectly suited to each other.

I haven't spoken to Steve in years, but I occasionally (like once or twice a year) run into him because we're in the same line of work.

But, as your comment suggests, "Steve" is also a metaphor for love and loss, for nostalgia and seeing the past through a kind of golden haze, even if, at the time, it really was pretty miserable.

My superpower? Apparently I'm in charge of the world, because I get blamed for everything! :)

Actually, my superpower is the ability to (pretty) accurately predict the consequences of decisions. My kryptonite is that no one ever believes me when I tell them what will happen. It's kind of useless.

My gift is actually rather an annoying obsession (at least if you ask the husband):I love to theorize and speculate. Give me scraps and pieces of information and I start to put together the puzzle and try to reconstruct a possible scenario. Drives people who prefer to have all facts before they say anything crazy. And even more annoying: I am really good at it. I am almost always right (in hindsight).(In my defense: I do not sell my speculations as facts.)

I feel way to much for people. It's tiring. I am good at playing devil's advocate. I can see past the worst thing people have ever done. (well, before three weeks ago, possibly). You are, indeed, good at metaphors. And writting.

I am pretty good at reading people. It was really handy in college because I would just know which questions would be on the test. I would often do better than the people in the class who actually had a better grasp of the subject - and would spend less time studying - because I could focus on what the professor thought was important.

It also helps with interviews and probably helps in my current job of technical support.

Interestingly, I can't seem to figure myself out at all. Why do I feel unfulfilled even after getting all (I thought) I wanted?

I haven't visited in a month and so much has happened. I am sorry about your sister, but happy to hear she is doing so much better. I am sorry about baby B, but very happy about Baby A - the baby now, I suppose.

I am Insomnia Woman! Every so often I get a day of Super Sleep!Also I can touch people and suck all their heat out and still remain freezing myself. My husband calls me Ice Princess and for once it's not because I have a headache...again.

Ooh, I have a few good ones:1. I can parallel park anything in any space.2. I can always find a parking space in the city almost directly in front of where I am going.3. It is always perfect weather when I go on vaca. Snowboarding? 3 feet of powda! Beach? Sunny and hot every day.

Good ones. eh?

But here is the bad one, much like Patti at 10:05am, I can sense other people's pain. Even in an airport or on the metro it is like waves smacking me. And I can tell where it is coming from. Sometimes I think I am insane because they are also accompanied by an understanding of what the issue is. Maybe I just have a vivid imagination.

My superpower is a Fonzi-like instinct for fixing things, like where to hit the tv to make the signal repair itself, which fake screw to tweak to make a car start...I have no idea what I am doing, but I fix things.

Incidentally, my kryptonite is Neil Young. I actually suspected at one point he was trying to harm me, because I have been in two car accidents and found out an ex was cheating on me while his music was playing in the background. When I moved to the West Coast from the East Coast, I received a postcard from someone that said, "Angie, You can run, but you cannot hide. Love, Neil Young."

I have a knack for figuring out actor's voices whether in an animated movie or doing voice-over for commercials or documentaries. I am nearly always right, even if its an obscure actor you haven't seen in a while.

My intuition, when I choose to listen to it. I always know who's calling me when the phone rings. My intuition warns me of what I can prepare for. It's pretty amazing. I think we all have it, but listening to it, really paying attention is the trick to mastering it.